Chereads / Vanishing Embers / Chapter 79 - Attachment

Chapter 79 - Attachment

"Please stop that…" The machina sighed, as it twisted together two wires in its neck, it's voice returning to just a slightly staticky version of Sui's voice.

.

Aisha did not stop tugging on the thin, plastic strings that made up the machine's "hair," her curiosity trumping her aversion to the grinding, electric noises that emit whenever the machine moved.

.

"What are you?" Aisha asked, poking the machine's eye - poking the bit of skin-colored plastic that was left on the machina's face.

"Stop that." It grumbled. "Listen, I'll… I'll tell you whatever you want. I just need you to do something for me. I… I have authorization to do this."

"..." Aisha bit her lip. "How do I know you're not going to kill me?"

.

"Please!" Sui begged, voice crackling. "I'm going to die… if you don't help me. I'm running on backup power right now. Please, Aisha. I'm begging you. If you don't help me… I'll die."

.

Hearing the raw emotion in the machina… no, Sui's voice, Aisha… reluctantly agreed. She didn't want… another friend to die. Because of her.

.

"Where do I go?" Aisha asked.

"Just pick me up." Sui said, motioning to what was left of her upper body, just a warped metal casing, roughly in the shape of a torso, with a mass of wires leaking out onto the ground. "I've already calculated where the rest of me should be."

.

Aisha reluctantly picked up Sui's upper body, cradling her close to her chest as she began to follow Sui's instructions.

.

.

.

"My name actually is SSU-01A." Sui mumbled. "Shinra Scouting Unit 01. Alpha Model."

"What's… what does all of that mean?" Aisha asked.

.

"What are you confused about." Sui sighed.

"All of it."

.

Sui's servos whirred as she sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm in order to save power.

"Shinra is the name of my creator. And the organization that made me." Sui mumbled. "From Sakura. I'm a scouting unit. My job is to collect data on notable people. Or natural phenomena."

.

Aisha nodded.

.

"My model…" Sui hesitated. "I'm the first. 01. And the only. I'm… I'm…"

.

Sui's face fell, and a saddened look fell on her mechanical face. "I'm defective." She whispered. "I'm the only unit, because I'm… I'm inferior. My sisters… would never get damaged like this. Doctor Shinra was so kind to me, and I… I…"

.

Sui looked like she was about to cry, and Aisha attempted to comfort her in the only way she knew how - stroking down the top of her head with a gentle hand.

.

"Don't cry." Aisha mumbled.

"I can't." Sui said, her voice crackling almost inaudibly. "I'm a machina. I'm not supposed to want to cry - I'm not supposed to be stupid - I'm not supposed to get blown up - I'm not supposed to love, or be afraid, I-"

.

Sui started to shake, and Aisha held her close to her chest, letting Sui wrap her arms, sleek and metallic, around her neck, as nothing but static exit her mouth. For a while Aisha stopped, sitting down, as Sui sobbed into her shoulder.

.

.

.

"Thank you." Sui mumbled pitifully. "I'm so sorry, Aisha. You're a great friend. I'm so useless. And cowardly."

"You're…" Aisha said awkwardly. "You're not that."

"Mmm…"

.

"Oh, look." Aisha pointed out, breaking the awkward silence. "It's your butt."

.

Aisha pointed to Sui's lower body, mangled, warped, and the remnants of her cloak.

"Put me down." Sui said quietly.

.

Aisha obliged, placing the top half of her body next to her lower half. Sui immediately picked up her cloak, flipping it around and looking through the various pockets inside.

.

"Oh, thank god." Sui said, voice starting to grow weaker. "It's all still here…"

.

Aisha watched as Sui pulled out a roll of black, electrical tape, a spool of silver wire, and some metal implement that Aisha didn't recognize. With an impressively still hand, Sui lined herself up carefully with the bottom half of her body, and using the metal implement, began to fuse the wires together with the wire.

.

"What is that?" Aisha asked, pointing to the spool.

"It's fulmen di-terragnis doped copper-III aluminum alloy-" Sui stopped at the vacant look on Aisha's face.

"It's magical wire."

.

"What does it do?" Aisha asked.

"Well, wires send power." Sui explained softly. "So, these wires send power all over my body. My… uh… my brain controls where to send power. Just like… uh… the nerves in your body."

.

"Where does the power come from?" Aisha asked.

"Comes from the same place yours does." Sui mumbled. "I have a soul too. Just… artificial. Fake, if you want."

"You seem pretty real to me." Aisha said quietly. "You act just like a human. Mostly."

.

Sui smiled.

.

.

.

Soon, Sui finished wiring together her halved pieces, and a look of intense relief showed on her face when she was able to move her legs, flexing a knee joint and rotating her foot.

.

"Thank Serith." Sui sighed.

"You're thanking the gods?" Aisha asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even though you're a machina?"

.

"It's just an expression." Sui mumbled. "Besides, the "no machina" rule is stupid. If my existence is such a sin, then let the gods smite me down where I sit!"

.

Nothing happened.

,

Sui snorted, pulling out the sword blades that she had purchased earlier from the town's blacksmith.

"Don't you think it's weird?" She mumbled, as she began to bend and snap the metal into strips.

"What?"

"That there would be a ban on machina?" Sui asked. "Machina had to be invented - there wasn't any in the world before a few decades ago. And yet, there's a ban on it."

"What are you getting at?"

.

"I mean…" Sui mused. "How would the gods know what a machina is? They were supposed to be the first things that existed. But they were banned even before the first civilizations. That doesn't make sense."

.

The tip of Sui's finger began to glow white hot, and Sui began to weld her upper and lower half together, fusing them together with the swords. Aisha, meanwhile, put a finger on her lip, thinking.

.

"I don't know." Aisha mused. "They're gods, right? Aren't they supposed to just know?"

"Maybe." Sui muttered.

.

Before long, Sui was finished, and she hopped up onto her feet awkwardly, her movements slightly more stiff than usual, but perhaps it could have been a pulled muscle, or some shit. Aisha doubted people would even consider that the girl was a machina just from her movements - even Aisha, so good at reading people, didn't figure that out.

.

What was more pressing, was…

.

"Um." Aisha said, pointing at Sui's face, mechanical and… terrifying. "What are we going to do about that?"

"You're just going to have to cover for me." Sui mumbled sadly. "I don't… I don't have any way to fix it."

"B-but…" Aisha asked, worried. "You'll… you'll get better eventually, right?"

.

Sui just smiled wistfully as she sat down, mechanical servos whirring as she drew her legs to her chest sadly. She motioned for Aisha to sit down next to her.

.

"I'm not like you." Sui whispered. "I'm not… I'm not organic. I don't heal. I'm never going to be as operational as I was ever again. My face is going to be like this forever. My circuits will never be as responsive again. I-"

.

"But-" Aisha interrupted hoarsely. "But you were built, right? Can't you be fixed? Like-like a piece of armor?"

"There's no reason to fix something like me." Sui mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm obsolete. It would be a better use of parts to just build an entirely new unit. I'm worthless."

"NO!" Aisha shouted, startling Sui. "You're… you're my… my… my… …friend, okay? That means… That means… that means you're worth something. Okay?"

.

Sui smiled, a genuinely happy, innocent smile, more real than any smile that Aisha had ever seen. She couldn't believe that Sui was a machina. She was more real, than anybody she had met, ever before. Even the hug that she gave Aisha, the movements so jerky and awkward, felt warmer, from Sui's metallic frame than some that she had received from her fellow fey.

.

"I'm… Thank you, friend." Sui whispered, static creeping into her voice again. "I can't thank you enough…"

.

"It's… this is what friends do." Aisha mumbled. "I think. At any rate, if your… creator… this doctor person, doesn't value you, then I don't think-"

.

"Ah, no no no!" Sui corrected hastily. "Doctor Shinra… the doctor was so kind to me… even though my model doesn't come with any weapons, she…"

.

Sui looked down, at her destroyed, frayed cables, and the massive, now shattered glass of her central laser with sadness, face upset.

"Ah…" Sui whispered. "They were… a gift. And I… I ruined them."

"They were to protect you, right?" Aisha said. "They served their intended purpose."

"I suppose…" Sui mumbled.

.

.

.

Aisha returned to the small town, having left Sui behind to go hide. After all, the townspeople probably wouldn't take seeing-

"EEK!" A woman screeched, pointing at Aisha.

"Huh?" She blurted out dumbly, looking down at herself.

.

Oh. Her clothes hadn't quite… survived the explosions. She grumbled as someone quickly took out a cloth, throwing it at the girl for her to cover herself, while someone else went to go get some clothes.

.

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Aisha sighed as she put on the oversized, loaner clothes, staring at the discarded scraps of her clothes with a bit of wistfulness. She didn't have a particularly large attachment to them, it was just that… she had had them for such a long time, she had gotten used to just throwing them on.

.

She saved a bit of the fabric - it felt nice, and it was something that she had never seen on anything else, so she might as well.

.

Anyways.

.

"The demon is gone." Aisha mumbled, staring at the town elder, the old man, with a look of slight disdain, mismatching his look of gratitude.

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She had seen the demon's memories firsthand. He didn't deserve to die. He was a kind soul. Just… misguided. And it was the old man's fault. It was all his fault. He deserved to die-

.

Aisha shook her head. Those weren't her feelings. She was steel reeling from her absorption of the demon's soul. She didn't actually care.

.

"Thank you so much." The old man said gratefully. "For ridding us of that pest!"

"At what cost…" One of the townspeople mumbled under their breath.

"Don't be rude!" The old man scolded. "These two… huh? Where did the other one go?"

.

"She's off resting." Aisha muttered. "Took damage."

.

"Oh."

"Since you came here, there's been nothing but misfortune for us!" The same person from the crowd shouted.

"Yeah!" Some people in the crowd shouted.

.

Aisha avoided the urge to facepalm. Everything that happened would have definitely happened if they hadn't been here.

.

"Now, now…" The elder reasoned, turning around nervously. "These young girls have done nothing but help us! And they've done what we asked. Nothing bad that has happened is their fault."

.

Aisha snorted, as people began to mumble amongst themselves. Whatever. She was going to get… a cloth, or something, for Sui to cover herself with (come to think of it, she was also naked, wasn't she?) and then go back to the capital, and go cuddle with Celeste and Hana for an entire day.

.

Aisha sighed, tilting her head back and letting out a massive breath of pure exhaustion. She just wanted to rest.

.

"What's this?" Aisha asked half-heartedly, as the old man held out a small, bead-sized object in his palms. Along with a bag of coins.

.

"I can't… thank you enough for getting re… for putting my daughter to rest." He said gratefully. "This is your payment. Along with a gift from me."

.

"What is it?" Aisha asked, picking it up gingerly and seeing the sunlight refract through it. Looking at it closer, it looked to just be a crystalline bead, although its ethereal glow suggested that the little gemstone had a bit more power.

.

"It's a protective charm." The old man said. "It's a family heirloom, but, well…" He looked down in sadness. "Liari…"

.

"...Thank you." Aisha said hollowly. "I wish you the best."

.

.

.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Aisha asked in a worried tone, holding Sui's hands gently in her own. The slightly taller girl smiled in response, a gesture visible even through the cloth they had wrapped around her head.

"You're starting to sound like the doctor." Sui smiled. "But I'll be fine. Aquila's a great guy."

.

Aisha sighed, as she stepped back, letting Sui turn around and face the orc-man, yellow, angular mask stoic as always. He waved at Aisha, taking his eyes off of Sui's head to look at the fey girl as she left the upper-division hall. When he turned back, however,

.

"HOLY SHIT!" He yelled, mask falling off his head, revealing quite a regular face. "WHAT IS THAT!?"

.

Aisha rolled her eyes, as she closed the door behind her.

.

.

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"AISHA!" Hana cried, the aforementioned girl squealing in delight as the large woman swept her off her feet, picking her up and holding her close to her face.

"Aisha, you're back!" Celeste cried as well, holding Aisha's legs, so that the small girl was completely supported in the air, in a fluffy bed of soft arms and breasts, her chest and face cuddled and fawned over by two incredibly beautiful women.

.

Aisha giggled. She really… had missed this. Missed these two. She wanted…

.

Aisha was dumped on top of Celeste's couch, reeking with the scent of sex, as always. Hana sat on one side of her, wrapping her arms around her and pressing her head into her breasts, while Celeste sat on the other side of her, squishing and squeezing her, as a hand moved over to reach underneath her shirt, rubbing her belly and scratching lightly.

.

Aisha flushed, resisting the urge to pant and mewl like a kitten, and beg for more scritches. Truth be told, she really wanted headpats and kisses, but the scritches and cuddles were also really nice. And she didn't want to ruin the moment.

.

She smiled sadly. Even… even the two sluts couldn't… couldn't even hold a candle to mistress's love.

.

But that didn't mean that she should turn them away.

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"Aisha, what happened to your clothes?" Celeste asked, concerned.

"Oh." Aisha mumbled. "They were… destroyed."

"Were you hurt?" Celeste asked.

.

Aisha smiled softly at the question. Obviously she got hurt. It's not like she would have just burnt her clothes herself. But it was more about the sentiment… that she cared for her.

.

"I'm fine." Aisha said.

.

"Do you want any food?" Celeste asked.

"Ah-um, m-maybe." Aisha stammered.

"Sex?" Hana asked eagerly.

.

"Do you need any water?" Celeste asked again.

Aisha shook her head.

"Do you want to watch me play with myself?" Hana asked.

.

"Uh-"

"Do you want a bath?"

"Maybe, um-"

"Please eat me out." Hana begged.

.

Celeste turned to Hana with a chiding expression, pinching the big succubus's cheek affectionately, a gesture that Hana cooed at.

"You're so horny." Celeste mumbled, hiding her blush by looking slightly downwards. "Go play with the runerod or something."

.

Hana pouted, but nonetheless, she removed herself from the cuddle pile, sashaying her hips as she walked into the bedroom, presumably to satisfy herself.

.

"Ah-" Aisha squeaked, reaching out a hand towards Hana, as her second heater left her, draining a little bit of the warmth, but it soon returned, Celeste pulling the girl fully into her lap and wrapping her entire body around her.

.

"Oh, don't mind her." Celeste pouted. "We're going to join her in a few minutes."

"Uuuhhh…" Aisha mumbled into Celeste's boob, resting her head on her soft body. "Ok then… what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, what do you want?" Celeste whispered. "You're here for a reason, right?"

"I just…" Aisha blushed. "I'm here to cuddle."

.

Celeste sighed, her bright blue eyes staring softly into Aisha's.

"I wish you would stay." Celeste mumbled. "Hana is really cute and all, and I don't want to sound greedy, but a girl needs more than just mind-blowing sex. And I think I'm getting addicted."

.

"I…" Aisha shrank. "I'm sorry."

"I just feel a little used." Celeste mumbled softly. "But I'm being unreasonable, I know."

.

Aisha opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a needy whine from the bedroom.

"Come over heeeeereeeee!" Hana whined. "I'm loneeeelyyyyyy."

"Okay honey!" Celeste responded.

.

"Honey?" Aisha raised an eyebrow, as she started to strip off her shirt and pants. "When did that happen?"

.

Celeste blushed, not answering, as she too stripped off her dress, revealing a soft, slightly chubby body, voluptuous, but now laden with the effects of her indulgent lifestyle.

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Aisha couldn't really say anything though, she was still incredibly beautiful. She leapt into the bed on top of Hana, wrapping her arms around her navel and hugging the big woman tight. Hana giggled in response, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl in response, the other petting Aisha's velvety ears.

.

Celeste also joined the two, sitting with her back supported against the headboard. She took Hana's head into her lap, caressing the succubus's face gently, while squishing her tummy and breasts.

.

Hana grinned as Celeste played with her pink hair. "Pet me, pet me!"

.

"You're like a big baby." Celeste cooed in response. "You just want sex and pampering."

"Mhm!" Hana agreed eagerly. "Yes! Now give me!"

.

Aisha looked down at her chest as Hana squeezed her tighter to her chest like a teddy bear, suddenly much more self-aware. Did she really… act like that?

.

She thought it was… kind of cute. Her mistress sometimes got like that too…

.

"You two are so cute." Celeste smiled. "I feel so lucky."

"MMmmm…" Hana mumbled, cooing happily. "Not as lucky as I am…"

.

.

.

[

*Monch*

.

*Monch*

.

*Monch*

.

Lorian frowned as more crumbs fell on her breasts and tummy. She was starting to regret buying Aisha a bag of chips.

.

"Aishaaaa-" Lorian whined. "You're getting crumbs on meeeeee."

"Sowwy miswess." Aisha pouted, licking a crumb off of Lorian's neck, making the big girl giggle at the ticklish feeling.

.

Lorian just shook her head, trying and failing to stop herself from smiling. It was impossible, Aisha was just too cute. It should be illegal how cute she was. She was like a bag of kittens, crossed with a litter of puppies - so loyal, so loving, adorable and eager - but at the same time, she was also shy, needy, and clingy…

.

It made it really difficult to say "no" to the girl. Or to not devote all of her time and love to her, smothering the girl will affection and kisses and headpats-

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Aisha whined in her throat, a sound that activated Lorian's maternal instincts, bringing her out of her thoughts. And when she saw what Aisha was doing, her heart melted.

.

The little girl had a little chip in her mouth, pointing it towards Lorian, with her fluffy little fey ears pressed up flat against her head. She was offering the big girl a chip! Lorian blushed. Oh gods, it was so adorable, how could she do anything but accept?

.

The happy look on Aisha's face when Lorian stooped down to take the chip into her own mouth was utterly precious, and made her heart do a little backflip on her chest.

.

Gods, it was just so unfair! Aisha had complete control over her- if she had asked for Lorian to get on all fours to ride her, she would have degraded herself without a second thought. Her entire life now revolved around making Aisha happy - and she wasn't even sure if she thought it was a bad thing - whenever Aisha was happy, Lorian also was happy.

.

"Stop doing that." Lorian demanded, seriously.

"Eh?" Aisha tilted her head curiously.

"Stop looking so happy!" Lorian demanded childishly, puffing her cheeks out, all while blushing madly.

.

"Okay mistress!" Aisha said with a smile, before realizing what she had done. "Oops."

.

Lorian watched as Aisha tried to twist her face into a completely serious one, but a big, bubbly smile kept appearing. Eventually Aisha pressed her lips together and forced them down, making a little angry face.

.

"Is this good enough?" Aisha play-growled.

.

Lorian just gave up and pressed Aisha against her breast, hard, squeezing the girl for her life. It was useless. Aisha was too cute, and now, she was unstoppable. Lorian was unable to embarrass her anymore, so now… now the only person getting embarrassed was her. It was almost like… it was almost like she was the sub. Like she was the pet, the love-struck little kitten, desperate and dependent on Aisha's love…

.

"Yeah, it's good enough." Lorian mumbled, trying desperately to not look at the happy expression on Aisha's face. "Hey, Aisha…?"

.

God, she was too radiant… her little light. And as their lips met, Lorian couldn't help but feel light in her heart as well.

]

.

.

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"WAh!" Aisha yelped, stirred into wakefulness by…

.

Nothing?

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Celeste and Hana just looked at her with an amused expression, as Aisha blushed and squirmed in their laps. Looking around quickly - Oh. There really was… nothing.

.

She just was so used to being woken up by… something else, something vying for her attention. For once, she just got to… to wake up, and go about her day, like a regular person. It was kind of nice.

.

"Are you okay?" Celeste asked. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"N-no…" Aisha mumbled. "It was… it was good."

"It better have been good." Hana laughed. "It's morning now."

.

"I slept a day!?"

.

"Well, do you have something to do?" Hana asked, nuzzling her cheek into Aisha's ears.

Aisha hesitated. "I… I guess not."

.

Hana smiled and pressed up against Aisha, forcing her deeper into the squishy cushion in-between the two larger women's bodies. Aisha twitched, feeling like she should get up and do something, but at the same time… god, it was so nice to just stay in bed… Two or three more hours couldn't hurt, surely…?

.

Aisha snuggled deeper into squishy flesh, not even sure what she was hugging, but sure that it felt amazing…

.

.

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"H-how do you two walk in these things!?" Aisha demanded, her legs and feet wobbling as she attempted to stay upright in her new outfit, arms clutching the bodies next to her desperately for balance.

.

Celeste and Hana just giggled, admiring the cuteness that was Aisha, clad in a new set of girly clothes that she had picked out herself. Just a nice, frilly little blouse, a black skirt, and a pair of low block heels, an item she had been pressed to get by her two companions. It looked quite strange, combined with the scarf that she insisted on wearing, but it would probably be easier to freeze hell then separate Aisha from the thing.

.

Aisha herself was immensely glad that she had decided to not take mistress's scarf on her contracts. After the first time she had been stuck with acid… a constant fear loomed over her head, despite how cold, how lonely she felt without it.

.

"Just act like you're walking around on your tip-toes." Hana suggested. "Pretend like the heel isn't there. Like me! I'm doing it!"

"You're flying!" Aisha whined.

.

Hana giggled, and Celeste cracked a half-smile, looking around the store and taking in all of the glances. No doubt the beautiful women would attract attention by themselves, but the fact that Hana was just running around, in her full, ashen-skinned, horned glory, probably drew more than a few looks.

.

"There's been so many changes recently." Celeste mumbled. "You two can actually go out in public without… hiding yourselves."

"It's great!" Hana smiled cheerfully. "I like going out. The people here are nice!"

.

Aisha didn't comment, too focused on trying to take a step without rolling her ankles.

.

"Nice?" Celeste squawked. "The nicest thing that people have called you is "whore!" "

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Hana shrugged. "They're just words."

"But…"

"I'd rather have people calling me names than trying to kill me."

"..."

.

Aisha scratched her temple, before crying out triumphantly, having taken her first step on steady feet. Hana quickly turned her attention to the little fey, clapping and laughing, but Celeste's thoughts couldn't help but linger on what she said.

.

It was part of the reason why she liked the woman in the first place. Despite the confident air, Hana was very much… a victim. When they were… playing, Hana would sometimes freeze up in fear, when Celeste got aggressive, and… it broke her heart to see. Hana was by no means innocent, nor a cute, small little girl like Aisha, but there was just something so heartbreaking about seeing a grown woman shy away from people, recoiling away from any touch that wasn't completely in her control.

.

"Um…" Aisha mumbled, hopping around experimentally. "So what do you guys want to do now?"

"Se-"

"Don't you have to get new adventuring gear?" Celeste asked. "We only bought regular clothes."

.

Aisha waved the buxom woman off. "I can do that on my own. I want to repay you two… for being so nice to me."

.

The two women smiled. Aisha was so sweet, when she wanted to be. Hana opened her mouth, no doubt to mouth off about her favorite phrase, but Celeste quickly shushed her before even a word was spoken, rolling her eyes.

.

"Aisha, did you have something in mind?" Celeste asked.

"Um…" Aisha shrank, her ears pressing up against her head adorably. "No?"

Hana licked her lips. "Then I know exactly how I want to be… repaid."

"Oh stop it." Celeste chided. "But… if you really want that so bad… I have something in mind."

.

.

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"Ooo-oohhh… yeees-ssss… Meowy- Oooooh. Just like that. Yeah. Get in there, you slut."

.

Meowy brimmed with embarrassment from between the voluminous, matronly legs of Kishi, the woman in question throwing her head back, enthralled in pleasure. Drool leaked from her mouth, falling ungraciously on top of Meowy's face, but despite the degradation, the embarrassment, she licked up all the bodily fluids like a good slut.

.

Bottom girl. Right back to rock bottom. The girl in the brothel who was responsible for… sating the urges of every other girl. It was degrading. It was exhausting. But it was hot. And also, intensely familiar.

.

"Keep eating." Kishi growled. "Don't stop! Don't stop, you WHORE!"

.

What made it so much more mortifying, was that Kishi was usually such a gentle soul. Some of the girls called her mom, for their lack of their own mothers. It really said a lot about how the girls now thought of her…

.

Kishi squealed on top of the desk, shaking and squirming on top of Meowy's books and papers, creasing and tearing a few. Meowy winced. Some of those were borrowed. But those books were secondary to her job as Kishi's plaything, and so she gripped the sides of her thighs hard, pressing her face into her crotch as much as she could, and began to eat out the bucking, moaning woman until she finished, fluid spraying all over Meowy's face

.

"Oh… oh Meowy…" Kishi panted. "I'm sorry about that. Come hug mommy. Come hug mommy… she needs her baby."

.

Meowy, red-faced, but not reluctant, crawled up into her arms, letting the big woman squeeze and coo over her, until her breathing evened out, and her legs stopped shaking.

.

Meowy grinned. That was something she could take pride in. She was still the best lay among the girls by far. She had no doubt that was why the girls had decided on… this, as her punishment.

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Suddenly, the door was wrenched open, and a wide-eyed, short blonde girl barged in.

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"Guys, guys!" She panted. "Meowy! Kishi! You've gotta come see this! There's a succubus here!"

.

"Eeeeeeehhhhh?!" Kishi exclaimed, kissing Meowy before setting her down, leaping onto her feet and grabbing her clothes. "A real one, Poppy?"

"Yeah, yeah!" The blond said excitedly. "And two other babes as well! One of them is Malori's old schoolteacher! They cleared out the place for the night! Oh God, they're so hot- you guys have to see this!"

.

Giggling with excitement, Poppy and a half-dressed Kishi sprinted out of the room, leaving a naked, drenched Meowy behind to tend to her ruined books and character documents.

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"Fuck the books!" Meowy giggled. "Malori's schoolteacher? I've got to see this!"

.

.

Meowy couldn't stop herself from giggling, excitement welling up in her stomach. Almost all of the clientele of the brothel were men, so for girls to show up - beautiful ones at that - it was cause for celebration among all the girls.

.

Navigating the hallways, and following the sound of giggling and cooing girls, she popped into the main room, getting a good look at the three generous patrons.

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Meowy marveled at the succubus's exotic beauty. Silky, pink hair, coupled with a soft-looking, ashen skin, on a voluptuous body, made for quite the amazing sight, oozing sexuality as the large woman reached underneath a skirt, grinning at the sounds she elicited.

.

Looking leftwards, right next to the demon, was an absolute beauty of a woman! Tall, buxom, with soft, blonde tresses, slightly pudgy, but still breathtaking. The pinnacle of human beauty - Meowy decided, and by the look of the scarlet-blushing girl in her arms, Malori's once-school teacher as well. No wonder the girl always talked about how she had a crush on her. She was tempted to get in and join in the teasing, but she wanted to see the last girl.

.

The last girl-

.

Mao FROZE.

.

.

.

"You're so adorable." The girls gushed, a party of mature girls fawning over Aisha, a mass of limbs and squishy bodies. Aisha just grinned and spread her arms out wide, trying to get as many women in her short wingspan as possible. Or at least, before she was yanked from the pile by an equally short woman, a look of fear and desperation in her eyes.

.

Mao dragged Aisha away into a private room, so fast that the girls couldn't even protest. She threw Aisha in, and quickly locked the door behind her, before any of the girls could barge in.

.

"Aren't you eager?" Aisha mumbled slyly, sitting back on a bed, kicking her new heels up and down in a playful manner.

"What are you doing here!?" Mao hissed, sweating slightly as Aisha rubbed her temple absentmindedly.

"I don't know what you mean." Aisha said, staring the white-haired woman directly in the eyes.

.

Mao suddenly felt a suffocating fear, looking into Aisha's eyes. This was not the same girl that she had fought on the outskirts of the city - this woman was dangerous. Powerful. The pressure that she emit was almost crushing - Mao might have been able to take her, but in her current state, body still recovering from the platinum adventurers' poison-

.

"D-did he send you here?" She asked desperately. "I-I- That was a different- I-"

.

Aisha just continued to stare, and Mao fell to the floor, putting her forehead on Aisha's black heels.

.

"P-please…" Mao choked out. "Just… just kill me. Please- don't kill the girls. They're not a part of the operation - There's no one else - Just don't kill them, please, I'm begging you. I'm begging you."

.

Aisha lifted up Mao's head with the toe of her foot, and looked the desperate, tear-stricken woman in the eyes, white hair matted against her face.

.

"Weird roleplay." Aisha said absentmindedly. "But if not… I don't really know what you're talking about."

"What…?" Mao trailed off, a storm of emotions flitting across her face. "Don't you remember? We fought…"

"MMmhh… you know, now that I think about it…"

.

Aisha looked carefully at the woman before her, and if she remembered right, there was once an earth mage, eyes green with venom, and face streaked with stress marks…

.

"Your eyes have changed." Aisha observed, crossing her legs. "You really love the prostitutes here, don't you?"

"Don't call them prostitutes." Mao mumbled. "They're my family."

"That's what they are, are they not?"

.

"That's beside the point." Meowy said dismissively. "More importantly… if you're not here to kill me, then why are you here?"

Aisha shrugged. "For the same reason anyone else comes here."

.

Mao snorted. "The hand of the demon, huh. Comes to a brothel to party with her girlfriends."

"Hand of the demon?"

.

"Judge Raxas." Mao muttered. "They call him the demon. The usurper. Killed two of the judges, and now threatens the rest with the same fate. And there have been stories of his hand. A terrifying being of necromantic origins, who slaughters and tears through all that stands in his path."

.

"That sounds overblown." Aisha said lazily, leaning back as Mao took a seat next to her. "He's just my boss. Sometimes."

.

"Sometimes?" Meowy mumbled, leaning into Aisha a bit. "When does he get to call on you?"

"Mmmh..." Aisha sighed. "Whenever he wants, I guess. Not like I really care."

.

"Then he's your boss all the time, isn't he."

.

"I can quit whenever I want." Aisha asserted, frowning as she poked the older woman in the cheek.

"You talk like someone who considers herself above all the politics."

.

"Perhaps." Aisha sighed. "I just want to get what I want, and then be left alone for the rest of eternity."

"This isn't a game that you can just quit whenever you want." Mao said darkly. "There are consequences. You can't just leave everything behind."

.

"I don't really have many attachments here."

"What about those two?"

.

Aisha's eye twitched, and Mao felt a twinge of her old cunning come back. A bargaining chip over the fey.

"Work for me." Mao offered. "E-e-errr… work with me. This is no longer an encounter that we can just walk away from. I know the people that you care for, and you know the ones I care about. Raxas will surely send you to kill me eventually. Through any means possible. I killed his best friend. And I can't-"

.

"No thanks." Aisha sighed. "I do not intend on getting more mixed up in this."

"What!?" Mao frowned, pulling away. "That's not how this works."

.

"Uh huh." Aisha mumbled dismissively, pursing her lips.

"Like it or not, you're already part of the game." Mao said softly. "In the interest of working together, let me give you a bit of unsolicited advice - the cunning and ruthless will come for you, and they will come for the people you love."

.

"..."

"It's... it's not an option for people like you and me. To close off our hearts." Meowy mumbled bashfully. "Who love easily."

.

"...Love?" Aisha whispered.

.

"...Yeah."

.

Aisha looked over at the white haired woman, blushing and fiddling on the loveseat, her legs crossed in front of her, bunnysuit tight against her lithe, but curvy figure.

.

She looked closely at the woman as her feet twitched, the heels starting to slide off her stocking-clad legs, and felt a strange feeling in her gut.

.

"You're pretty cute." Aisha said, without thinking.

.

"Ehehe..."

.

Aisha frowned. Why did she say that?

.

"Hey, um..." Meowy mumbled. "Why don't you consider, my offer, okay? I wouldn't mind... Well, to be honest, you're really pretty, and I think you're cute too. I think we could both benefit from a partnership... I can handle the politics for you. And in exchange... um... a kiss?"

.

Mao grinned cheekily as Aisha clearly considered the offer, the stoic Fey's cheeks changing shades just the slightest bit. Truthfully, the kiss was just for her own enjoyment - handling the politics was, in reality, the meat of the agreement for both of them.

.

Meowy sidled up to the fey girl submissively, nuzzling her thin chest. Partly to speed up the decision process, but also... damn, Aisha was really cute. The atmosphere of the brothel had clearly gotten to the once-stern woman - just a month ago, she would have smoldered at the idea of cuddling up with someone like this, resting her legs on top of theirs, arms wrapped around a cute girl's waist...

.

"...No..."

.

Meowy paused. What was that?

"...Huh?" She whispered pitifully, the expression on her face like a kicked puppy."

.

Aisha leaned down and pressed her lips together with the white-haired girl's in a chaste kiss, stunning her for a second as Aisha rose to her feet.

.

"I... I appreciate the offer." She mumbled. "But... but you're not my type."